Warner's aggression, Starc's anger

In the early passages of day four, David Warner was outscored by Ed Cowan. As if seeking to redress the balance but also give Australia's innings some morning momentum, Warner set about Chanaka Welegedara at the start of a new spell. The first ball was pulled to the boundary on the first bounce, and the third had Warner walking down the pitch to meet Welegedara's delivery early. This stroke did not find its way to the boundary, but the the mood of the morning session had changed.

For the challenge presented by Rangana Herath's spin, Warner had another novel solution - the switch-punch shot he has used successfully at Twenty20 level but been more hesitant to use in ODIs or Tests. Warner had already swung Herath for one six over long-on, but his search for wider scoring avenues resulted in the shot that has caused plenty of discussion about whether it should necessitate a change in the laws relating to LBW. Watching the ball closely, Warner executed his daring stroke effectively, but with a slight adjustment suited to Test matches. Instead of trying for a six, he kept the ball along the ground, and was rewarded with a boundary in front of square.

Matthew Wade's promotion above Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey to No. 5 in the batting order caused some discussion, but nowhere near as much mirth as his eventual dismissal for 11. Facing up to Herath bowling from the southern end, Wade took an almighty swing at the left-arm spinner, causing the ABC commentator Jim Maxwell to exclaim "he's bowled" loudly enough to be heard outside the broadcasting box in addition to on radios around the ground. The only trouble was Wade had made contact, the ball sailing to long-on where Nuwan Kulasekara caught it. Maxwell's misunderstanding caused plenty of laughter at the ground, and conveyed the slight sense of uncertainty that always accompanies the watching of an over from behind the striker's end.

Mitchell Starc delivered a far better spell with the new ball than he had managed with either in the first innings, moving the ball a little either way and working on a tight line that drew numerous edges and spars outside off stump. However he lost his temper when bowling to Dimuth Karunaratne, responding to one diligent forward defensive by hurl the ball back at the batsman. There was no question of Karunaratne attempting a run, so the incident said more about Starc's developing temperament than anything else. The aggression he showed then was to be better directed later, as a yorker screeched under Karunaratne's bat to dismiss the opener closer to stumps.